cnn newsroom. i m jim acosta in washington. we begin the hour with two dueling lawsuits and two separate states, putting the national spotlight back on the issue of abortion rights. in texas. a federal judge has ruled that the fda is more than two decades old approval of the drug wordpress stone should be halted . this is one of the most trusted and widely used drugs for medication abortions. the court did pause the ruling for one week so that an appeal which is already underway can be filed . president biden vowed late friday night that he will fight the ruling in texas. meantime in washington state, a federal judge moved to protect access to that very same. abortion medication across 17 democratic led states and the district of columbia. cnn s rosa flores is in houston forest. rosa walk us through both the judge s order and how we got here. this is a very big story down in texas, where you are. you know, it absolutely is. and this judge judge matthews has merrick really did
absolutely is. and this judge judge matthews has merrick really didn t hold back in the 67 page order. he ripped apart the fda approval of this drug method press tone, saying that the fda approval was flawed that it didn t consider the risks to women and girls. let me take you through some of the specific language that this judge used in this order this judge saying that the fda s refusal to impose certain restrictions on this drug quote resulted in many deaths and many more severe or life threatening adverse reactions it goes on to say due to the fda is lax reporting requirements. the exact number is not ascertainable, but it is likely far greater, far higher than its data indicate goes on to say whatever the numbers are , they likely would be considerably lower. had the fda not acquiesce to the pressure to increase access to chemical abortion at the expense of women s safety. now there have been many medical organizations that have been issuing statements about this fact checking wha